


Casablanca

by bad_anima



Category: Modern Family (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 10:16:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11987760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bad_anima/pseuds/bad_anima
Summary: After a week-long vacation on his family's farm, Cam goes to a party that will change his life forever





	Casablanca

Not wanting to get out of bed was not something Cam was used to feeling. He heard people in California whining every day about alarm clocks, and snooze buttons, and being subhuman until they got a sufficient amount of coffee. It was a point of pride with him. As a Missouri Farm Boy, he could wake up early with no problem, ready to go.

But not today.

As the thought ran through his mind, he heard knuckles rapping loudly against his bedroom door and Pam's voice yelling, "Cam, are you almost ready to go? We're leaving in twenty minutes!"

Great. Back to the airport. Back to his other life.

"Yeah, almost!" Cam called back, just so Pam would leave him alone.

He forced himself out of bed and looked around the room. He loved this farm so much. He could still remember the day he sat in this very bedroom and decided to leave. He was sick of it back then. He was sick of the farm, of his family, of the other people. He wanted glamorous. He wanted Southern California. He wanted to be around people who wouldn't judge him for being gay. He wanted to be able to walk into a Starbucks and order a coffee that actually had very little coffee in it. He wanted to be able to go to concerts, spot celebrities living their daily lives, and go to the beach whenever he wanted.

And then, from the first day he moved to California, his mentality shifted. Being a farm boy from Missouri was something that set him apart from everyone else, and he was proud of it. He made sure everyone who knew him, knew that he was from Missouri.

Maybe he shouldn't go back, Cam thought. This had been the best week he had in a long time, and what did he have to go back to in California? Everything was so expensive, the traffic was horrendous, and he hadn't been in a relationship in over a year. He liked his friends, and his job, but he could have friends and a job in Missouri, too. _The Wizard of Oz_ was one of his favorite movies of all time. Maybe Dorothy was right when she declared that there really was no place like home. Cam loved Los Angeles, but life didn't seem to be falling into place for him there like he hoped it would. Maybe he just needed to be someplace different for a little while, so he could fully appreciate how great life on the farm was.

Cam shook his head and got in the shower. He was thinking about the outfit he packed for the sole purpose of wearing it on the plane right back to Los Angeles. Farm apparel and city apparel were completely different, and as much as he loved putting together a good outfit, he had been having fun while he was visiting his family wearing flannel shirts and old jeans.

"You sure did sleep in," Pam commented as he emerged from his bedroom. "You're not even going to have time to eat breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day. You're going to have to get that gross, overpriced airport food."

"It's fine," Cam said dismissively.

"Oh, sure, now that Cameron Tucker is Mister City Boy, airport food is just fine, even though we have fresh eggs and bacon right here."

Cam shot her a look. "Let's just go. You can continue the commentary in the car."

 

"Are you okay?" Pam asked him once they started driving to the airport. "This is our thing. You're my brother."

"I know," Cam said with a big sigh. "It's just, I'm starting to really miss this place. California is great, but it's not…"

"Home?" Pam asked sympathetically.

"Yeah."

Pam smiled and reached over and patted Cam's leg. "You know what would make you feel better? A boyfriend. Have you had one of those in a while? I hear they're pretty fun."

Cam laughed. "No. Men in California are…they're different."

"You mean different than Missouri men? Wasn't that the point?"

It was, but Cam was looking for something different. Since he became friends with Pepper, Pepper had been trying to set him up with every man under the sun. But the thing was, Pepper's friends were just like him. And Cam wanted something different. He wanted someone who was a little more relaxed, down to Earth. The reason he was flying back to California so early after his week-long vacation was because Pepper was having a party that night. He hinted that he really wanted Cam to be there, which Cam knew from experience meant that Pepper wanted to set him up with someone. And despite everything, Cam still really wanted to believe in love. He wanted to believe that this could be the one.

 

Cam felt like he was trapped in a thoughtful daze all day. By the time he left for the party, he was looking forward to having a chance to focus on something besides how much he missed his family. Of course there was a traffic jam on the way to Pepper's house so he was late, and when he arrived, the party was already in full swing. The party was specifically a game night, so there were different games set up throughout the house. This was good, Cam decided. Coming back from vacation to spend a night with good friends, good food, good times before he went back to his normal life. He grinned and decided to start the night by playing Yahtzee, just because a new game happened to be starting as he walked by.

"Hey, Cam!" his friend Stefan called. "Come play Yahtzee with us!"

"Okay," Cam said. He sat down next to Stefan on the couch and helped himself to a pencil and a score card.

"Hey, how was your vacation?" Stefan asked. He laughed. "I can still smell the farm on you."

"Ha-ha you're hilarious," Cam said dryly. "It was great!"

"We're glad to have you back, man," Stefan said. He clapped Cam on the shoulder. "You're too good for Missouri."

Cam didn't think that was true, but he didn't say anything. A red-haired man he didn't know went first, and in three rolls all he managed to get was two ones, a three, and two fives.

"That is a truly awful start, bro," said Bobby.

"It's fine," the red-haired man said dismissively. "I'll count the two ones, and I'll make up the points later."

It was Cam's turn next. He took the cup and blew inside for luck, and he noticed that the red-haired man rolled his eyes. Whatever. Cam shook the cup a couple times, then rolled the dice. "Oh my God!" Cam exclaimed. "Yahtzee! That never happens!"

"That's awesome! Congratulations!" Stefan said. "You're off to a great start!"

"It must be my lucky night," Cam said happily as he recorded his score and passed the dice to Stefan. The red-haired man rolled his eyes again. What was his problem? Oh well. Cam wasn't going to let some stranger ruin his night.

As the game progressed, Cam continued playing really well. He knew that rolling dice was the dictionary definition of pure luck, but every time it was his turn, he blew into the cup for luck, and luck he got. The thing about Yahtzee was that you were playing against yourself as much as the other people, and Cam was doing well against both.

"You should try blowing into the cup for luck!" Cam insisted when the red-haired man recorded his score of 14 for Chance.

"Yeah, I'm not going to do that," he said.

Following his Yahtzee luck, Cam eventually moved on to Clue, and then Chinese Checkers. And his luck was following him from game to game. It felt great. Every once in a while, Cam caught a glance of that red-haired man, mostly when he was rolling his eyes when Cam got excited. What a party pooper.

"Attention, everyone!" Pepper eventually called. "We're going to start a game of charades! If anyone wants to play, follow me!"

Cam smiled. He loved charades. And he was really, really good at it. It was a strange skill that had very little practical purpose outside of the occasional party, but he loved showing it off when he got the opportunity.

"Okay, everyone divide into teams," Pepper said once he was convinced everyone who was going to play was in the room. Cam started looking around for a potential partner. He had been coming to Pepper's parties for years, and he knew almost everyone. But he was distracted by the red-haired man walking in at the last minute.

"Hey. I heard you had an uneven amount of people," he said.

Cam hadn't even noticed. But the man sat down in the empty chair next to him and said, "I'll be your partner. I'm Mitchell Pritchett."

Cam was surprised. "O-okay. Hi, Mitchell. I'm Cam Tucker. Are you any good at charades?"

Mitchell shrugged. "I don't know. It's charades. It's whatever."

"Late-comer goes first!" Pepper proclaimed.

"Okay, let's do this." Mitchell stood up. He picked up the mason jar the pieces of paper were in, and he looked at Cam and smiled, and blew into the jar before he pulled out a piece of paper. Cam sat on the edge of his seat, ready to go. Mitchell unfolded the paper and looked, and Cam could see from his expression that the game was lost. He knew that expression. Mitchell had absolutely no idea how to act out whatever he drew. So much for luck.

"Okay, I can do this," Mitchell muttered to himself. He took a deep breath and put both hands forward, fingers down.

"Casablanca!" Cam shouted.

Mitchell's eyes widened, and he smiled. "I can't believe you got that," he said. "I had no idea what to do."

"Well, it worked," Cam said. He giggled to himself. "Casablanca. That's so funny."

Mitchell did the gesture again, and Cam said, "It's Casablanca!"

"Would you look at that?" Pepper said. He patted Mitchell on the back and said, "I call dibs on being your wedding planner."

Mitchell laughed uncertainly. He sat down next to Cam and said, "I can't believe you got that."

He did the gesture again, and Cam said, "Casablanca."

Mitchell looked at him and smiled. Cam looked back at him and returned the smile. "Casablanca," Cam said. He would have to watch that movie again soon. He hadn't seen it in way too long.

"Hey…Cam?" Mitchell said. "Do you want to go get a coffee with me?"

"You're just leaving?" Pepper demanded.

Mitchell looked back at Cam and shrugged. "If Cam wants to."

Cam smiled. "Yeah. Let's go." He stood up and followed Mitchell out of the house. There was a coffee shop just around the corner from Pepper's house, and Cam ordered a drink that had very little coffee in it.

"So, are you a big _Casablanca_ fan?" Mitchell asked him as they sat down.

"I like a lot of movies," Cam said. "I actually haven't watched it in a while, but I do have the sheet music for it."

"Oh, you play an instrument?" Mitchell asked with a badly concealed surprised interest.

"Piano," Cam said. "I defy stereotypes at every turn. I grew up on a farm in Missouri, and I played football and was also gay. But I do play piano, and I love art and theater."

Mitchell grinned. " _Really_? That's so interesting," he said sincerely. "I meet so many gay men who are just…ha! Walking stereotypes. I've never been interested in that kind of man, though. I like that you're different."

Cam smiled. "Thank you. So what about you? What kinds of things do you like?"

"Well, I'm a lawyer, so I spend way too much time working," Mitchell admitted. "But I enjoy art, and music, and reading. I like to travel a lot, when I can. And even here I like trying different kinds of restaurants."

Cam nodded. He knew that he had Mitchell's undivided attention. It felt really good, knowing that Mitchell was trying to impress him. Cute, successful Mitchell the lawyer, who was too cool for the world, liked Cam. "Well, of all these different restaurants you've tried, is there one in particular you like?" Cam asked.

"Actually there is this new Vietnamese restaurant that just opened I've been dying to try out."

"I love Vietnamese food," Cam said. It was a big fat lie. He'd never eaten Vietnamese food before, but it sounded good.

"Maybe we should go there together," Mitchell said. "I don't have any plans tomorrow night. Do you?"

"Not one."

It was Cam's lucky night indeed. Maybe this city wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
